Felipe received a standing ovation from sympathisers in an ancient monastery church, where he spoke for the first time since he was tapped to become king.

Felipe attended the ceremony to award a cultural prize to a Franciscan friar-historian. His wife Princess Letizia, a glamorous former television journalist dubbed the nation's first middle class queen in Spanish media, also attended.

The crown prince will become King Felipe VI as early as June 18 following Monday's announcement by King Juan Carlos that he will abdicate because the country needs new royal blood to lead it.